It Comes and Goes
by TheNightIsFading
Summary: ...
1. The Last Goodbye

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~Author's note~ This is my newest Lily/ James story, although they won't fall in love for a long time. So please review and tell me what you think. I won't work on this story as much as I'll work on my story Jaguar Brazil- Book One, because I like that story better, and it is better. So please read and review that too. 

~Disclaimer~ Everything I own belongs to me.

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Chapter One—Prologue 

The morning was bright and sunny by eight-o clock in the morning, when a girl named Lily Evans woke up in her London house. She sat up slowly, feeling strangely peaceful as she stood up. For once the floor wasn't chilly, as the day was growing hot already. Although she was only a young child, she could tell that the day would be sweltering.

But she felt strange somehow. As if she had been really sad last night. But she couldn't tell why, until she went downstairs and her sister broke the bad news to her. 

"So Lily," Petunia Evans said as she sat across the table from Lily. Their parents, Robert and Iris Evans were still asleep. The two girls, who were good friends, were just sitting at the table, not eating anything.

Lily looked up. "Yeah?" She was thinking about how she would go play with her best friend Sierra later that day. Sierra lived next door to her. 

"Aren't you going to go say goodbye to Sierra?" 

And Lily remembered. Sierra Linden was moving away. Her family had only been planning for just over a week. And her only friend, her best friend was moving away. Because the new family would be moving into the house in three days. 

"Oh no!" the ten year old said loudly, looking very upset all of a sudden. She couldn't remember a time when Sierra hadn't been around. 

"I don't understand it!" Lily said loudly. "Don't they care about her? Or me?"

Petunia shrugged. "I guess not." 

"I tried doing magic last night. I wished on a million stars! And it doesn't work. I told you, Petunia. Magic doesn't exist."

The eleven-year-old girl glared at Lily. "Of course magic exists! And someday, someone will come and sweep me away to live in a beautiful place where I can do as much magic as I want!" She looked smug for a moment. "And I'm sure it will be soon. Besides," she added. "I tried doing some spells, and I'm sure they worked. Don't worry, Lillian; you won't be apart from Sierra for long."

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. She didn't believe in magic at all. Only things that were logical and made sense. And Petunia really believed in all that stuff with all of her heart. Lily pitied her.

"You poor girl. If you really believe in all that stuff, there must be something seriously wrong with your head," said Lily, standing up to leave. 

"Well, guess what Lily? I bet you're just jealous!" Petunia said loudly, before turning and flouncing out of the dining room. 

Lily sighed and ran out of her house and into the house next door.

"Ack!" she said, as two big men pushed past her, carrying a dresser. 

"Hey!" one of them yelled. "Watch it."

Lily turned around and stomped on his foot. "You watch it," she yelled. "I'm not the one who just ran into a little girl, you git!"

The men ignored her, and she went further into the house. She wasn't used to it being this empty. She didn't remember he Lindens moving in, so she couldn't think of that. Maybe it had been her family that had moved there. She didn't know. 

Pushing back her long red hair, she glared around the room with her big light green eyes. Mrs. Linden was standing in the doorway, with her back facing Lily. The girl marched over and yelled. 

"You're still moving away?" Lily was enraged. She and Sierra had given her parents the silent treatment and guilt trip during the last week, trying to convince them to let Sierra stay. "I can't believe it."

Louisa Linden turned around and looked down at the girl, whose eyes were filled with sadness and distrust.

"Lily… I know this is hard for you—it is for Sierra too! But we have to move. You understand that, don't you?"

But Lily didn't understand. She didn't know why these people would take away her best friend like this. Why? By this time next week, some new girl would be in the window of Sierra's room, and when Lily went into her yard, some new dad would be watering the grass. 

"And you two will keep in touch! You have other friends, and Sierra will make some," Mrs. Linden continued. 

"No!" Lily said. "I don't have any other friends! We didn't need any. And I don't want to make new friends. I just want Sierra as my friend. You don't get it. All you think about is what you need. Not anyone else."

"Lils…"

"Don't call me that!" Lily said flatly, glaring at the woman. Mrs. Linden pushed back her black hair, and bent down next to the girl. She had never seen anyone look at her like that. For a moment, she understood why all the other kids thought that she was strange. Then she shook off the feeling.

"Only someone who I trust—someone who would never stab me in the back like this can call me that."

"I'm truly sorry, Lils—Lily. But we have to do this. You understand."

"No. I don't," Lily said. "I'm going to see Sierra."

With that, she turned and stomped up the stairs to her best friend's room. 

Sierra Linden was a short girl with short dark brown hair. She was really pretty and nice and likeable. The other kids at school liked her, and put up with Lily, because Sierra was popular. She had big blue eyes, and was really beautiful. Lily knew she was pretty, but she thought she faded into the background compared to Sierra.

When Lily burst into her room, Sierra was sitting in the corner, hugging her legs to her chest, and crying. She looked up when Lily came in and sat next to her.

"I don't want to go!" she cried. "Oh Lily! Don't they care about me? At all?" 

Lily only shook her head. She didn't know what to say, so she settled for wrapping her arms around her best friend, and giving her a hug. 

After nearly an hour, during which the two girls sat and cried, and talked about what their lives would be like when they were apart, Sierra pulled away, and wiped her face on her shirt.

"Oh Lily! I'll miss you so much. And I wish I weren't going."

"I know Sierra. Why are they making you go?" 

"I don't know! But you'll make new friends."

"No I won't. Sierra. You know that everyone hates me. They think I'm so strange."

Sierra sighed. "Well… maybe you'll be friend with whoever moves into this house." She waved her arms around her bedroom. "And when you look out your bedroom window, you'll see them, instead of me."

"No way. I'm not going to be friends with anyone who takes your house. It wouldn't be the same."

"You have to promise to write me everyday, and to call all the time!" Sierra said. 

There was a soft knocking at the door, and both of the girls turned towards the doorway. Mr. Linden opened the door and walked in.

Lily knew what he would say, and she knew that she didn't want to here it. 

"Come on Sierra," the father said, excited. "Here's your coat." He tried to hand her the jacket, when it caught on fire.

"What the--" he said in alarm, throwing it on the floor and stomping on it.

Lily leapt back, and Sierra stared in disbelief. She had known that they could set things on fire; when they were younger, they had practiced setting ants on fire by concentrating very hard on them.

Lily knew she had done it, but she didn't know how. She hadn't even tried. And yet, she could feel a strange force in her head, and she could feel energy. There was no doubt that she had started the fire.

"Well," Mr. Linden announced after stomping out the fire. "That must be the oddest thing I have ever seen." He scratched his thinning hair. "I don't know where that happened…" He stopped and looked at Sierra, who was looking at Lily curiously. If was almost as if they didn't have to use words to communicate. "Well, you know… We have to be getting on the road, Si."

Sierra hugged Lily one last time, and walked to the doorway.

"All right, Lily?" the father said as a last greeting, before he walked down the stairs. 

Sierra looked horrified as she followed him down the stairs.

Lily stood in what had once been her best friend's room, and looked at the now-blackened anorak lying on the floor of the empty room. Outside of the window, she saw Sierra climb into the car, and felt a horrible sadness. Maybe if she had been more persuasive to Sierra's parents, her father wouldn't have taken this new job, and she wouldn't have had to move. 

But Lily couldn't stay in the house much longer. The cleaners were coming, and this house no longer belonged to the Lindens. She didn't have the right to just walk through it anymore. And besides, it was creepy being alone in an empty house. Completely empty, except for Lily and a burnt jacket. 

She picked up the coat and carried it back to her house, where her mother hugged her.

"I know this seems like a big deal now," she said. "But someday if won't be. Now, I'm not saying that you'll make new friends right away, but when you transfer schools next year, I'm sure you will. And Sierra will too. I went through the same thing when I was your age. Maybe someday I'll tell you. Why don't you go take a nap Lily? I'll bring you up some tea, if you'd like."

Feeling pale and drained, Lily made her way slowly up to her room, while her mother set the coat on a table, not knowing what her daughter meant to do with it.

She had always been such a strange child. 

* * *

****

Lily was still sad the next day when she woke up. But maybe there was some sort of hope. Her life didn't have to end because her best friend was gone. And maybe another girl would move in next door and become her new friend. She didn't want to think about it then, though. For awhile, she could pretend everything was normal. Even though she was only eleven years old, she wasn't stupid. Lily knew that no matter how she and Sierra wanted to keep in touch, they couldn't forever. 

And even if they did, soon they wouldn't have anything in common and nothing to talk about. 

"She'll make new friends and forget all about me!" Lily said to herself. "But I'll be stuck here with all the people who hate me." 

The thought almost made her wish it were she who was moving.

Lily was a very outgoing girl. She was brave to the point of almost being fearless. And she was smart and good at sports. But the other kids had hated her for a long time.

She could have been very popular, except for the weird things that always seemed to happen around her. Once, she had turned the teacher's hair bright green, when she had called Lily's parents. Odd things had constantly happened to people who picked on her. And strange things sometimes happened to Sierra also. Once, some kid had been talking about what a loser Lily was, when his face had exploded into a horrible itchy rash. Since Lily hadn't been around, everyone just assumed that Lily's oddness was rubbing off on people. So they avoided her. 

Lily smiled as she remembered how Sierra had always stood up for her, even when all the other children rallied against her. That was what made Sierra such a good friend. 

"I guess she'll be a good friend to someone else soon," Lily whispered. The thought really didn't make her feel any better. 

Downstairs, Petunia was watching TV, while her mother washed the breakfast dishes. 

"How are you doing today, honey?" Iris asked, wiping her hands on a rag.

"I'm okay," Lily replied shrugging. 

"Well, in that case, you can help me finish the dishes," Iris laughed, tossing Lily a sponge. 

"Actually," Lily said, backing away so that the sponge fell onto the floor. "Um… I don't think I feel quite up to it."

"Really?" Iris laughed. "You can do them after dinner tonight."

"But Mum! It's Nia's turn!"

"Fine. Why don't you run along. Go meet the new neighbors!"

"New neighbors? I thought they weren't coming yet! How long have I been sleeping?!"

Iris laughed and pushed back her long blond hair. "Just yesterday and last night. I guess the new neighbors decided they needed to move in early. They just got here a few hours ago. I'm going to make them a house-warming gift soon. You can take it over."

Lily hadn't expected anyone to move into the Linden's house so soon. Now someone was already taking Sierra's room, and putting their posters on the wall, and their dog had already ruined the carpet… Lily tried to sound casual.

"Oh. Well, maybe they have a kid…"

"Petunia says she saw a boy and a girl, but she thought that she was too old to play with them. Perhaps they're your age."

"Hmm…" She didn't really want to see the new kids, but maybe it would be all right, as long as they didn't think she was weird. And maybe she could make friends with them, and start the new year of school with some friends. 

And hour later, Lily took the finished Jell-O in a mold and walked over to her neighbors house. Her head was filled with questions, and she wished that Sierra were with her. Lily wasn't shy, but she hated being made fun of. Of course, if Sierra were there, Lily wouldn't be in that situation. 

She raised her hand to knock on the door when someone yanked it open from the other side.

~Author's note~ So how was that for a prologue? I thought it was okay. If I get some nice reviews, I'll update it (I will anyway, but I'll do it faster with reviews) Also, if you like one of my stories, review it more, and I'll update it faster. Thanks! 

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KirjavaLyra, October11, 2002


	2. Pieces of Paper

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~Author's note~ So here's the second chapter of my story. I hope you like it. Please review!

~Disclaimer~ I wish I owned the world, but I sadly do not. PS: My ugly and stupid sister is looking over my shoulder. Her pen name is Kulang, so if you see her stories, just tell her she's mean. I want to see if anyone will.

Chapter two

Lily looked at the girl who opened the door. "Oh!" she said in surprise. "Hi."

The girl seemed surprised too. "Oh! Hi! Are you our new neighbor? Come on in." She opened the door wider, and Lily wanted to tell her that she shouldn't need permission to enter the house. But as she followed the girl inside, she saw that they whole house had changed. All of the furniture was someone else's, and boxes were all over the floor. Lily shook off the feeling that a painting that hung on the wall was watching her.

"I'm Lily Evans."

The girl stuck out her hand. "Melody Black. Is that food?!" She eyed the covered bowl Lily held.

"It's only my mum's Jell-O. Not too good, mind you."

"Food!" Melody Black yelled, snatching the bowl and unwrapping it. "Yes! Oh thank you Lily! Mum threw out all the food we had, and she and dad have gone shopping."

A boy appeared in the doorway. For a moment, Lily thought he was a girl. He had on a halter top and knee length skirt. "Did someone say food?!" he yelled, barreling into the room. He then saw Lily, who burst into laughter. The boy grinned at her.

"What?" Melody said, after returning from the kitchen with bowls and spoons. "Ack!" she shrieked, seeing the boy. "Sirius! You're wearing my clothes!"

"Um… Yeah..." he laughed weakly. "Funny story, really. My clothes are still packed up, and yours weren't."

Renee put her hand on her head and sighed. "I should have known why you were avoiding me!"

Lily noticed how alike Sirius and Melody looked. Both had black hair, and brown eyes, and were almost the same height.

"You're twins!" she exclaimed. She had never met twins before, although she had seen them around before.

"Yeah," the boy, whom Melody had called Sirius, said. "I'm Sirius. Who're you?"

"I'm Lily," she replied, trying not to laugh at the boy. If he liked to walk around in girl's clothing then who was she to judge him? _Besides, _she thought, although she felt bad about it afterward. _If he decides he hates me, I can always tell everyone that I caught him wearing woman's clothes._

"Why did you come hear so soon?" Lily asked. She realized how rude she sounded, and rephrased it. "I mean, I thought you weren't coming for a few days."

Melody looked down for a moment, and sighed. "My dad got a new job in London, so we had to move sooner." She sighed again, and began to dish the jello into the bowls.

"Yeah!" her brother Sirius said, stomping his foot and watching Melody pour the food. "We didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to Remus."

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Remus must be the friend they had to leave behind. And they didn't even get to say goodbye to him. They had to leave their old house for the same reason Sierra had to leave. I guess they kind of feel the way I do, just a bit.

"Yeah. My friend Sierra moved away yesterday. I got to say goodbye to her, but her father found a new job across the countryside."

"I'm sorry," Melody said, handing her a bowl of jello. She and her brother dug into it, and were finished in less than half of a minute. Lily had never seen anyone eat so fast. Not even her sister Petunia, who was notorious around the neighbor hood for being a bit of a pig.

"Are you really that hungry?" Lily asked after they were finished. "When will your parents be back?"

Melody looked at her watch, which was a very strange golden color. "Not for a few hours. Why?"

"And didn't you say that you have no food?"

"Yeah," said Sirius. "Why?"

Lily said, "Well, we can go to the candy store! I'll show you where it is, if you don't know."

"Of course we don't know," the boy replied. "We just moved in this morning."

"And we can't go anyhow!" Melody interrupted, glaring at her brother. "We haven't any money."

"Oh." Lily was disappointed. In a weird sort of way, she had been hoping that one of the kids from her school would see her in town with people other than Sierra. "Are you sure?" Of course they would be sure. What sort of kid would pass up going to a candy store if they had any?"

"Well," Melody said.

"C'mon lil sis, " Sirius pleaded, pouting.

"I'm not your little sister, Sirius, so shut up. And I can't just pull money off a tree!"

Sirius opened his mouth.

"No! I can't pull money out of the air, either. You're stupid. That would be magic and magic doesn't exist."

Lily raised her eyebrows slightly, and wondered what was wrong with them.

"But Melly! I think I know where there… I mean, um, I know where some money that isn't packed up is!"

The girl looked skeptical. "Show me then!"

They left the room and went into the kitchen, of what was now their house. Lily knew that from now on, this wouldn't be Sierra's house, and she couldn't go in anymore. And weren't those children odd? There was an odd feeling about the house now, and Lily didn't like it. Sirius and Melody seemed fun enough, though, although they seemed even stranger than Lily was. Talking about packing money away. Maybe wherever they came from, packing away money meant to put it in the bank.

* * *

****

Melody Black looked sad as she walked up the kitchen stairway, following her brother, Sirius. This staircase was so different, and this house was so small. She thought about the girl, Lily Evans. She seemed nice enough. Maybe Melody would have a new friend soon. She remembered how sad she was when she had had to leave her best friend Renee. Maybe that was how Lily felt. But Renee's family was magical, as her's was. But if Lily was magical, then she hid it well. Usually, there were signs that someone knew about magic. A sort of confidence, and sort of look of secrecy. Still, they were living in a muggle neighborhood, and it might not be good to make any new friends. She could visit her friends by floo, and would see them at Hogwarts. But she might have to explain where she was going to any muggle friends she made. Although that was no illegal by any means-- you could tell your family that you were magical if you were muggle born-- it would be awkward. And with her big-mouthed twin brother, it would be hard to keep a secret.

But Melody wasn't really the type of person who cared about consequences, and Lily seemed nice enough. Not strange as far as she could tell.

She looked up as her brother waved his hand in front of her face. Swatting it away, she said, "What?"

"You were thinking again," he said simply. They had reached the room where Mr. and Ms. Black would be sleeping, towards the back of the house. He walked in, while Melody stood in the doorway watching him.

"What are you doing this time?" she snapped. Sometimes the two got on each other's nerves.

The boy shook his head at her, and pushed his ear length hair back, as a few strands fell into his eyes. Then he opened the bureau, which had already been moved into the room. Melody said OH! And walked in, as Sirius picked up a small bag and held it triumphantly above his head.

"I told you we had muggle money!" he laughed. "I _told _you!"

"I completely forgot about that!" Melody said, reaching out for it. She scowled at him when he jerked it out of her way and held out above his head and out of her reach.

Melody hated when he did that. Sirius was three inches taller than her now, and was constantly reminding her of it. And he was heavier than she was. Soon she would no longer be able to beat him in a fight.

He poured the money out on the top of the dresser. The money was what their parents saved for special occasions or when they had to do something in the muggle world. Of course, they weren't supposed to take it, but rules such as that had never stopped the two before.

"How much should we take, I wonder?" Sirius asked, turning to his sister.

Melody didn't know how much muggle money was; she didn't even know what you could buy with it. But she wasn't about to tell Sirius that. Then she'd never hear the end of it.

"I think one paper is the same as a sickle," said Melody.

"Well then… I guess this would be enough," Sirius said, pulling out two thin pieces of paper with the number twenty of them.

"Melody?" Lily called up the stairs. "Sirius?"

"Coming!" Melody yelled back, running back down as Sirius scooped the money back into the bag and put it away.

There were so many papers in that bag. Their parents would never notice anything gone.

Lily had gone back to her house while Melody and Sirius had been upstairs, and grabbed five pounds, although her mother had yelled about her wanting to spend that much money on candy. She just wanted Sirius and Melody to think that she was cool. First impressions were the lasting ones, weren't they?

"Oh good," said Sirius as he followed his sister down the stairs. "You're still here."

"Did you get any money?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Melody. "Twenty papers."

"Papers? Oh, pounds. You got twenty pounds? Each?" If these people could afford to buy that much candy, why were they in this place?

"Yeah. Is that enough?" Sirius answered. Lily looked at him, and opened the front door. 

"Yah!" she said.

* * *

* * *

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Half a block from Lily's house lived a boy named who went by the name of Ryan. He was the head of the group of children who bullied Lily. He was popular, but not rich or cute.

In fact, most girls found him ugly. 

But you don't really care about his appearance, do you? Only the fact that he was horrible to our heroine matters. So on with the story. 

Lily hated him completely. But she didn't try to stand up for herself anymore. It didn't do any good. 

As she lead Melody and Sirius down her street, telling them how strange it was that they didn't know about any sports, she hoped he wasn't there. 

But she didn't really have good luck, and there he was, sitting on his porch. He was shooting rocks at squirrels with a slingshot. 

"Oh no," Lily whispered, glaring at him. He hadn't turned around yet, but she knew he knew she was there.

__

Like he has some sort of Lily sensor, she thought, and although the thought was funny in a way, it made Lily fervently wish that she had taken the long way to the store.

"What?" Sirius asked. Lily had learned that the boy was a joker, and wasn't serious often. Well, he was always _Sirius, _but… She could tell that he was the sort of person that could be fun to be around. She hoped they would be in the same school the next year. j

"Evans," Ryan snarled, in a low voice that she could hear anyway. 

She wished she had the "strange powers" everyone claimed she had at that moment. Maybe if she thought about it had enough, she could set his jacket on fire. 

She concentrated hard on it, as Melody said, "Who's that?" 

"No one," Lily said, looking at Ryan in disgust. He was nice to everyone except for Lily. 

She hurried to get past his house, but suddenly the end of the yard seemed to be hundreds of feet away. Why was he home during the summer? Didn't any people actually go on vacation?

She felt herself blush, and wished she didn't blush so easily. 

Suddenly he leapt over the fence and landed in front of her. 

"How can someone with your considerable bulk jump around like that?" Lily said, narrowing her eyes and glaring at him. "It's completely disgusting."

Melody looked at her brother curiously, wondering what was going on.

"Watch yourself, Evans. I was just going to say how _sorry _the IHLE is that Sierra has moved away." Lily snorted. She was willing to bet that "IHLE" stood for I Hate Lily Evans. "After all, it's no fun to pick on someone who won't stand up for themselves."

"Hey!" Sirius intertupted. 

"Yeah!" Melody said. "Don't diss on Lily! How would you feel if your best friend moved away?"

"Yeah! You've been bothering me for so long, and I'm not going to take it anymore. So get your bubbly fat out of my way before I have to knock you over. "

"So you've finally decided to act normal, eh?"

Lily shoved past him, and so did Melody, muttering a bad word under her breath. Sirius said something quietly, but Lily didn't hear.

As they walked down the block, Ryan yelled as his jacket burst into flames, and he found himself standing on his hands. Lily laughed to herself as she walked, and so did Sirius, although neither noticed the other one. 

* * *

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~Author's note~ I'm sick again, so this might be the last chapter I write for a few days. I need my rest. But don't worry. As soon as I post up to chapter seven of my story Jaguar Brazil, Book One, I'll update this one. So please review and tell me what you think. I know there are lots of mistakes, but my story can't be perfect. I just noticed how much Lily looks like Likly, which isn't even a word! Haha. I was typing and Likly appeared! 

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Also: If anyone I know is reading this story please tell me! I don't think anyone I know cares enough to read this! (I don't go by Lyra or Kirjava, if you need a hint. No one even knows about the name Lyra, I don't think. Anywho! Also, I live in Seattle) 

If anyone wants to see something funny, get a bunch of kids to watch someone gullible. Then tell that person to bend over and spell RUN. Get it? Are you in? When they bend over? Get it?! Well, I think it's funny. But I have a dirty mind. 

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Thanks!

~Kir~


	3. A Secret Revealed

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~Author's note~ Here's the next chapter of this story. The title will be changed very soon, if I can think of one. If you have a title that might work, please email it to me, or put it in a review. Remember that it doesn't have to do with anything. But I've got one in mind. I'm not sure though.

~Disclaimer~ What's a disclaimer anyway? I really don't get what they're for. If I were to tell you that I own everything, would you believe me? 

Chapter three

The rest of the summer past quickly for Lily and her new friends. She still mailed Sierra every day, and called her every other. But she found that she didn't mind having Sirius and Melody next door. They were even better at pulling pranks than she was, and although they could be a bit odd; they were so very fun!

They would pull some sort of prank on someone each day, and soon everyone around their part of town knew about them. Lily had come out of the shell of her shyness. She had found that there was no reason for her to be shy now that she knew people could like her. 

She realized that she had already known, but hadn't acted on it. 

And now, when school started again, she would be able to. 

Petunia even thought Melody and Sirius were fun, although she was a year older than they were. 

Towards the end of the summer, Lily woke up to her mother and father arguing loudly.

She couldn't remember ever hearing her parents arguing before, although no doubt they had when she was not around. 

Lily dressed and walked down the stairs, wondering what her parents were talking about. 

The kitchen door was shut, but Lily could make out some of what they were saying through it. 

"Richard—not ready yet..."

"Not another—I told you—We have to..."

"Tell—Lily?"

Lily heard them say her name, and walked through the door, into their beautiful kitchen. 

"Tell me what?" she asked. 

"Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop and interrupt?" her father asked, laughing nervously. 

Lily wasn't looking at him. She was staring at the honey colored owl that was perched on their table.

"We got a pet?"

Iris Evans looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment. "Not exact—not yet, Lily. But we have something to tell you."

The girl pushed her hair back, over her shoulder, with one hand, the way she always did. It was loose around her face also. Then she looked at her parents. 

__

What? she thought. _Did someone die or something? _

"What?" she said. 

__

Or did I do something wrong? Oh God. 

Richard and Iris sat down at the same time. 

"What?" she asked again. Her voice cracked slightly this time. Her parents looked casual, though, so Lily sat down across the small round table and stared at them. It felt as if she were being interrogated. 

Iris smiled and pushed her long brown hair back. "Lily, we have some good news for you."

"You look like you're on your way to a funeral," Lily joked.

Her father chuckled. "We're sorry about that. We didn't really know how to tell you or Petunia. We never thought you would get one. We thought it--" He glanced at his wife. "Perhaps we should tell you what we're talking about."

"Perhaps you should," Lily said. 

__

Sure doesn't sound like good news...

"I'll just be blunt about it," Mrs. Evans said. "You're a witch, Lily."

Lily had been about to say some sort of sarcastic comment, when she heard what her mother had said. 

__

What? Has mum gone off the deep end? 

"Yes, honey," said her father. "You are a witch."

Lily's face had turned a strange shade. She was actually speechless. Whenever she had heard about someone being speechless, Lily had always thought that they were just exaggerating about it. 

But she actually had nothing at all to say. And she couldn't even force any sound out. 

Her parents exchanged worried glances at the pale color of their daughters' face.

Finally Lily got some words out. "I'm speechless."

"I knew we should have told them earlier," Richard said, standing up and fetching Lily some water. 

Iris nodded. "Well, Lily. I am a witch, and your father is a wizard. We--"

"Witch?" Lily asked weakly. This sort of thing was for Petunia, not Lily. Lily didn't even believe in magic at all, and Petunia swore by it. Why were her parents trying to trick her like this?

"We went to a magical school called Hogwarts, but your father's family had a history of having children that were not magical, and mine well, we went to a doctor, who told us we couldn't have any magical children. So we didn't tell you, because we knew you would want it, when you couldn't have it."

That made Lily mad. 

"I don't want it!" she yelled. "I don't want your stupid magic! I mean, hello! What have I been saying for my whole entire life? Magic does not exist, and if you believe that is does, well, maybe you might want to go see another type of doctor. And if it does exist, why don't you give it to Petunia? She loves magic!"

Mr. and Mrs. Evans looked stricken. 

"Lily," her mother said quietly. "I know this isn't what you want, but there is a law that magical children have to go to special schools. If you don't, you'll be forced to live with a private tutor all by yourself. We would give this power to Petunia if we could, but we can't. Magic doesn't just choose people randomly. There is a reason you were chosen. Maybe you'll never know it, but you can't change it."

Lily looked down. "I have to go off to some school? But how do you know?"

"I went there," her father said. "We both did."

The girl was getting impatient. "But _me, _dad. How do you know?"

Iris' face broke out into a huge smile. "You got your letter."

__

Oh my God. They think I'm like psychic or something! Can't they just come right out and say it? 

"Hogwarts sends out letters to all of the students who will be attending the school each year." Her mother sighed happily. "We were so happy when we saw that familiar envelope."

Lily's head whirled. She had just begun to make new friends, and was planning on her revenge on Ryan. And now she was going to leave. Another thought hit her. She would be going off to school. How would Sierra know where she was? 

"No," said Lily, standing up and walking away. "I am not going."

"But Lils..."

"Why do parents try to do this?" Lily asked angrily. "Why are you trying to ruin my life? I was finally almost happy, when you had to come along and ruin it for me!" With that, she stormed up to her room, knowing that she was being a bit melodramatic and not caring. 

* * *

****

Petunia Evans stood on the landing, ashen faced as her sister ran past her and flew into her room. Petunia had heard everything. There was no way that this could be a joke. Her and Lily's parents weren't cruel, although sometimes they could be unfair. 

"But it can't be..." Petunia said, leaning against the wall to stop from falling. All of her life she had tried everything she could to become magical; she had believed that she had magic with all of her heart. And Lily hated anything to do with magic. She didn't believe in anything that wasn't normal. But somehow Lily got everything.

And she never even tried. Just got everything she wanted. Lily wanted friends... she had got them. And Petunia longed for magic...but Lily got that too.

There was no way that it could be true... There was a strange lump in Petunia' throat and her eyes burned. But she hadn't cried for over a year. She was just going to have to march downstairs and question her parents about it. And if Lily was a witch and she wasn't... well she couldn't handle that. 

"But that won't happen. No, of course not."

* * *

****

Iris and Richard Evans stood in the kitchen, talking in hushed voices. 

"She'll accept the letter," Mr. Evans voiced. "By the end of the day."

"We should tell Petunia," his wife answered. "But she loves this sort of stuff, and you know it'll crush her."

"That's right!" their older daughter said, pushing open the kitchen door and walking in a few steps. "And that's why you should have never told us about it. Couldn't you have just kept it secret?"

"Petunia," Mr. Evans said softly. "Come sit down." Petunia simply stared at him. It wasn't even an angry glare. Just a sort of hurt stare.

"We couldn't hide it; it's illegal."

"Then it's true?" Petunia asked slowly, blinking several times. Until that moment, she had carried on a bit of hope that it was some sort of mean joke. But it wasn't. And now she knew the truth.

"Petunia, we're sorry," her mother said. "But if we could, we would change it."

"But you can't. And now Lily will be your favorite daughter again. Like always."

"You know that isn't true." Mrs. Evans stated, standing up. 

"We love you just as much as we love your sister," Mr. Evans said. 

Petunia felt a tear beginning to seep out of her eye. "It isn't fair!" she yelled. "It's what I've wanted for my whole life, and now she gets it! And she doesn't even want it! Why can't you just keep her home?"

"Life isn't fair, Nia," Mr. Evans said. "And we can't keep her home--"

"I know!" Petunia said. "Don't tell me about magic! I know about magic!"

Mrs. Evans looked crushed. "I'm sorry--"

"Sorry? If you're so sorry, why don't you just give me away? I don't want to be here anymore!" At that moment, Petunia meant what she said. 

"You don't mean that!" Mr. Evans scolded. 

"Yes, I do! I hate you! Both of you! It's all your fault. It your families weren't so dumb, I would be a witch too!"

"Young lady!" Mrs. Evans yelled, glaring at her eldest daughter. "Sit down right now! I know you have problems, but you shouldn't take them out on--"

"On you?" Petunia asked incredulously. "I'm not-- I can't--it's Lily--and she and I--"

Petunia turned and abruptly ran outside. All of her life, she had known that she would be a witch. Now it was happening to her younger sister. Petunia ran into the woods down the street from her house and kept going until she was completely exhausted. But she still didn't cry. That would be like admitting that she had lost, and she couldn't do that. Because maybe there was some way that there had been a mistake. 

Petunia suddenly felt sick. After vomiting, she fainted. 

* * *

****

At the house next door to the Evans' house, Melody and Sirius Black were celebrating the fact that they had got into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Of course they had known that they would be, and were not mad at all. In fact they couldn't wait to go. Although they were Lily's only friends, she was not their only friend. 

In fact, before moving into Lily's neighborhood, they had never even talked to any muggle people. So they were eager to leave and go to their parents' old school to see their friends again. 

"""I wonder what poor Lily will do without us," Sirius said as the twins got ready to go out to dinner with their parents. 

Melody looked over at him. "Don't call her that. She's nice. Too bad she's not going to Hogwarts." 

Even thinking about the school was enough to make her heart beat faster as she thought of all the havoc she would wreak there. 

"Wait!" Sirius yelled. Melody would have jumped if she didn't know her brother so well. 

The boy pushed back his hair and looked at her, expectant. Melody stared back at him, knowing that he would talk even if she didn't ask him to. 

"Maybe she is!" he said finally. Or maybe I should say yelled, because he was very loud. 

Ms. Black could be heard from somewhere downstairs. "Indoor voice, Sirius!" But the woman knew that her children never listened to her. 

"No, Sirius," Melody said, rolling her eyes as if Sirius was the dumbest person alive. "There is no way that could happen. It's like, so impossible that we happen to move into the house next to the only other wizard family in this townie place thing." She paused. "But it would be cool."

"Maybe every family around here is magical, but they're in the Wizard Protection and--"

"You're stupid!" Melody laughed. "That's dumb." 

Sirius scowled, offended. "That's not very nice, Melvin."

"Don't call me that. Don't you wish we could tell Lily, though?"

"There's not a rule against it, exactly, but we can't any way. She'll think we're just at private school," Melody said. "Sir Sirius the Brave," she added as an afterthought, thinking of the name her brother had named himself when they were younger.

"If you ever tell anyone about that, you're dead!" the boy threatened, tackling his sister. Soon he would be able to beat her. But Melody would never admit that. She had always beaten him when they were younger. 

They finally moved apart, laughing. 

"She hates magic anyhow," Sirius said. "Remember when she was mad at her sister?"

"Yes." Melody laughed. "It would be funny if she had magic then!" 

* * *

****

~Author's note~ Thank you for reading this chapter (and reviewing!!!) . I wanted to make a reason about why Petunia hates Lily. I mean, it's kind of lame to have no reason at all for hating people. I hoped you liked it, because I didn't. But I haven't updated for over a week, and I think I need to before you decide to stop reading. 

~Disclaimer~ I don't own the things that other people own. 


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